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i do like a review of a new yonex racquet which doesn't say that it's the best ever. not that i don't believe all the hype or ants, but i really find it hard to believe that every time yonex introduce a new high end racquet, it's the best they've ever made. marketing has its limits ....

I played with it earlier today and I thought it was great. It has both "Power and Control" Quoted from Kim Dong Moon. Kim says it is the Nanospeed 8000 and the Armortec 800O put together. I would have to agree.

I played with it earlier today and I thought it was great. It has both "Power and Control" Quoted from Kim Dong Moon. Kim says it is the Nanospeed 8000 and the Armortec 800O put together. I would have to agree.

I played with it earlier today and I thought it was great. It has both "Power and Control" Quoted from Kim Dong Moon. Kim says it is the Nanospeed 8000 and the Armortec 800O put together. I would have to agree.

By the way, the cone code is 310182SP (so, Yonex took a while to ship it).

It's a 3UG5 model and the stated maximum tension is 24lbs.
These are the same for the ArcSaber 7 as well.
The ArcSaber10 also has the same overall length, shaft length and head width as the ArcSaber7.
And it's got all those important words the Arc7 has... and one more: Ultra PEF.

Sadly, the Arc10 doesn't come with its own stand-out cover... what you get is the same curving (apparently saber-like) cover that Yonex introduced with the Arc7

First Look & Stringing:

The first thing you notice about the racquet is that the Arc10 comes with a red original grip (while the Arc7 has a standard black original grip). It's made of very poor quality rubber... and will easily peel off along with the plastic wrap unless you're really careful.

In any case, there's not much use being careful... shift your grip a few times during play and it begins to come off in slivers (In hindsight, it was a good thing to have added an extra grip to the package)

As with the Arc7 earlier, the stringer didn't bat an eyelid when I asked for one-piece stringing at 29lbs. The Arc10 takes it easily... except that it's not recommended for the squeamish (the frame deforming inwards, though slightly, is quite a heart-stopping sight)

Warm-Up:

I chose one of the better local groups to test-play the Arc10 (for the curious: this is one of the 'heavyweight' Sunday-evening groups at Singapore's Hougang Sports Hall)

The first trial shots were an absolute surprise... the feel was exactly that of the Arc7 Stunned, I switched to a Ti-10 for a few shots... and then picked up both the ArcSabers. Switching them in my racquet hand for every alternate shot, I went through an extended warm-up, comprising mostly forehand-backhand clears and drops.

To put it simply, it was weird... the Arc7 and Arc10 felt the same

The Real Thing:

We began a game.
Now, something was different... the smash and the drive.
With the Arc10, both shots simply deteriorated in power and accuracy

The reason probably lies in my hitting style and the shaft's flex.
I hardly swing for smashes and drives... preferring to either whip or tap furiously. I guess I like 'em stiff However, the Arc10's shaft is less stiff than that of the Arc7 (not by much, but you can see the difference if you hold down the head and hang a dumbbell on the grip).

In other spheres (drops, clears, arcing blocks to the net, etc), if you have the Arc7, you have the Arc10. As for net-play, the Arc7 is the winner

Verdict:

In my opinion, the ArcSaber 10 is poor value for more money. In fact, towards the end of my 3-hour session tonight, I found myself switching to the Arc7 for the second half of the game

Marketing will tell you that the Arc10 has new or improved technology!
Where is that?
What is that?
Ultra PEF?
Gimme a break!

Except for cosmetics and new high-sounding catch-phrases, the ArcSaber 10 feels and plays like the ArcSaber7.

Well, if there's anything special about the Arc10, it's the colour and the paint job. It looks classy (from afar too) and the red coat goes really well with the red grip. (But be sure to stock a few red overgrips... the original isn't gonna last more than a few fast game sessions.)

The only good reason I'd recommend buying the Arc10 is the price.
Since the ArcSaber7 is still selling at close to the ArcSaber10's price, you might as well go get the new toy

Interesting review which differs from Ants. He said the Arc10 was stiffer but you feel that is is less stiff!